Donald Trump is on a self-sponsored war with the American media, accusing them of propaganda against him, circulating fake news about him and doing everything to tarnish his image in the eyes of the American people.
Trump even went on to single out some of the media outfits he believes carry fake news. They are CNN, NBC, New York Times and The Washington Post. These media outfits are singled out for different reasons: CNN for reporting on an unverified report from a U.S Intelligence official that Russia had been attempting to compromise the president (who was not yet sworn in at the time).
.@CNN is in a total meltdown with their FAKE NEWS because their ratings are tanking since election and their credibility will soon be gone!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2017
NBC’s iniquity was carrying a news report that said that job creation to the United States wasn’t necessarily Trump’s making.
Thank you to General Motors and Walmart for starting the big jobs push back into the U.S.!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 17, 2017
The back story is that Donald Trump had tweeted thanking General Motors for bringing jobs back into the United States after GM and Carrier announced domestic investments. The companies Trump had praised were, in fact, just following their 4-year efficiency plan, not his tweet.When NBC’s Today Show fact checked it, it was discovered that Trump’s impact on job creation is either “very small or non-existent.” Trump got bitter and resorted to 140 characters to reveal his displeasure.
Totally biased @NBCNews went out of its way to say that the big announcement from Ford, G.M., Lockheed & others that jobs are coming back…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2017
to the U.S., but had nothing to do with TRUMP, is more FAKE NEWS. Ask top CEO's of those companies for real facts. Came back because of me!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2017
No wonder the Today Show on biased @NBC is doing so badly compared to its glorious past. Little credibility!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2017
.@NBCNews is bad but Saturday Night Live is the worst of NBC. Not funny, cast is terrible, always a complete hit job. Really bad television!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 15, 2017
Saturday Night Live gets a mention because of all those Trump skits. The president just keeps supplying them with sartorial material.
It is unclear what the cause of the fracas is with the New York Times, or with Washington Post as well. But it is likely that any one of these articles calling him out on his alternative facts and his unreality show might have riled him up.
Wow, the @nytimes is losing thousands of subscribers because of their very poor and highly inaccurate coverage of the "Trump phenomena"
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2016
The failing @nytimes has been wrong about me from the very beginning. Said I would lose the primaries, then the general election. FAKE NEWS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 28, 2017
Thr coverage about me in the @nytimes and the @washingtonpost gas been so false and angry that the times actually apologized to its…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 28, 2017
…dwindling subscribers and readers.They got me wrong right from the beginning and still have not changed course, and never will. DISHONEST
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 28, 2017
Somebody with aptitude and conviction should buy the FAKE NEWS and failing @nytimes and either run it correctly or let it fold with dignity!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2017
So is Trump right? Are all these networks losing subscribers and viewerships because of “false reporting“? Has CNN’s numbers tanked since the elections in November? Did CNN lose ratings on Inauguration day?
CNN
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) January 25, 2017
CNN responded to Donald Trump’s assertions with the above tweet.
According to the entertainment website, deadline.com, November 2016, the election month, was CNN’s biggest month in 8 years. CNN had “its most-watched month in total-day news demo viewers in eight years. Its strong showing includes coming in at No. 5 among basic cable networks in primetime and total day total viewers. Contributing mightily was CNN’s Election Night coverage, which was its most-watched primetime night in its history.”
As for the numbers, CNN clocked 1.5M viewers and 608K news demo viewers – up 128% and 155%. MSNBC logged 1.3M and 361K – up 98% and 130%.
Total day, FNC’s 2M viewers bested CNN (993K) and MSNBC (736K) combined. FNC was up 60% year to year, while CNN grew 75% and MSNBC 83%. In the news demo, FNC’s 467K (up 105%) bested CNN’s 345K (up 172%) and MSNB’s 195K (up 103%).
In fact, 2016 was CNN‘s Most Watched Year Ever. The cable network enjoyed a Trump-fueled 77% total-viewers spike, and sat comfortably within the top 10 Basic Cable ranking.
NBC’s Today’s Show
NBC’s Today’s show is not doing badly. According to CNN, “It is actually America’s highest-rated morning show among 25- to 54-year-olds, the key demographic for advertisers, and it is just 100,000 viewers behind ABC’s “Good Morning America” among all viewers.”
According to TV Newser’s Morning News Ratings for the week of Jan 9, “Today’s show ranked No. 1 in the key A25-54 demo for the 55th consecutive week, but saw a rather sharp drop in the category from the same week last year (down -12 percent).
Today has almost doubled its key demo advantage over GMA, and has its largest lead over its ABC rival in more than 5 years.”
The averages for the week of Jan. 9:
- Total Viewers: ABC: 4.715 M / NBC: 4.621 M / CBS: 3.781 M
- A25-54 viewers: ABC: 1.514 M / NBC: 1.725 M / CBS: 1.067 M
NEW YORK TIMES & WASHINGTON POST
In the month of November, New York Times has boasted an additional 200,000 subscribers and
.@realDonaldTrump Fact check: @nytimes subscribers & audience at all-time highs. Supporting independent journalism matters. pic.twitter.com/yzh90y6ih0
— NYTimes Communications (@NYTimesPR) January 28, 2017
Finally, see article by Forbes and cable ratings by Media Life Magazine
The fact of the matter is these news agencies are doing pretty well, all thanks to Trump’s shenanigans. But Trump doesn’t understand that because he prefers his alternate version of reality.
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